The 2016/17 transfer budget

[Toast]

I didn't know where to post this, so I'm creating a new thread. Mods, do please move it if it belongs elsewhere.

I'd like to start a discussion on our transfer budget. I think we could - theoretically at least - spend absolutely silly money this summer. Here's why.

In 2014, Ivan Gazidis gave an interview in which he said "there had been a net spend of around £55 million on new players during the summer" It was also noted that for January 2015 "the club can spend around £20 million in January on top of the proceeds from any sales." The AGM believes that more still could be spent: "The Arsenal Supporters’ Trust estimate the available transfer funds [for January] to be £40 million but Gazidis clearly believes that is still too high." The Swiss Ramble's guesstimate is in line with that of the AGM. We ended up spending 11 million pounds on Gabriel Paulista.

The above figures would put our annual transfer budget at around £75 million NET. If we assume that unspend funds can be added onto next year's budget we arrive at a budget of £84 million for 2015/16. Of this we spent about £15 million on Cech and Elneny. That leaves some £69 million. Plus 75 for next year = £144 million for 2016/17.

And then there's the new tv deal, which will bring in another estimated £50 million. In addition, we should be able to spend at least a small part of the cash reserves on transfers, and finally we could further boost the transfer kitty by spending projected revenues. We could be looking at a (theoretical) transfer budget of well over £200 million for next season.

Like I said. Silly money.

Now for the disclaimer: I'm not entirely sure we can just assume £75 million as our annual budget, nor should we forget that the reality is far more complicated than what I've sketched out here. I'm also pretty sure there's a fault in my logic or that I'm overlooking something important, but I'm sure you fine ladies and gents will point that out for me.

Bottom line: I think it's safe to say we have a ****load of money. Even speaking very conservatively, the tv money and lack of spending for this season should have considerably swelled the transfer kitty for 2016/17.

 

[GDeep™]

This squad needs 200-300M worth of investment.

Might sound crazy but top players are 40-60M these days and we're pretty rubbish everywhere, Cech, Bellerin, Sanchez and Özil aside.

 

[Gooner Zig]

We could easily spend £100-150M on players this summer. Without question.

Also, I want to see Gazidis renegotiate that £30M debt reserve that we have to keep as part of the covenants of the bond repayments. We've done well to renegotiate the repayments, now get rid of that stupid covenant.

 

[GDeep™]

Gazidis is another ****.

 

[Hegemony]

The above information and sources over the net claim we do have a large amount of cash available. But will we spend it?

The tactic post financial-shackles (2013) is to buy one marquee signing a year. This isn't working because, while we do improve the squad, we lose pace with rivals who are signing 2, 3, or 4 key players. On top of that, we suffer from frequent injuries and an ageing squad.

We need heavy investment to compete and we have no restrictions now. All that's holding us back is Kroenke's 'You don't get into this business to win trophies' ideology and Wenger's support for this approach.

 

[BobP]

Ideally, we sign a CB, RB, LB, CM, RW, ST.

 

[remains]

Think we need to spend big on a striker as the priority this summer. Our options up front are really poor.

 

[Godwin1]

The above information and sources over the net claim we do have a large amount of cash available. But will we spend it?

The tactic post financial-shackles (2013) is to buy one marquee signing a year. This isn't working because, while we do improve the squad, we lose pace with rivals who are signing 2, 3, or 4 key players. On top of that, we suffer from frequent injuries and an ageing squad.

We need heavy investment to compete and we have no restrictions now. All that's holding us back is Kroenke's 'You don't get into this business to win trophies' ideology and Wenger's support for this approach.

That's pretty much is and if our spending habits over the last few seasons show us anything it's that we wont activly pursue top talent and pay over the required odds for them. Rather we'd act if someone is available like Özil, Sanchez, Higuain (decided it wasn't worth the money) or if we can get a player cheaper due to a claus of somethhing like with Suarez.

 

[Hegemony]

That's pretty much is and if our spending habits over the last few seasons show us anything it's that we wont activly pursue top talent and pay over the required odds for them. Rather we'd act if someone is available like Özil, Sanchez, Higuain (decided it wasn't worth the money) or if we can get a player cheaper due to a claus of somethhing like with Suarez.

Yeah, the opportunistic approach to the transfer market is a problem too. If we're after a striker (and we should be) then it's going to be problematic because top strikers are in rare supply: who's going to want to sell?

The club needs a new approach to transfers. We need to actively pursue what we need as opposed to what is available. However I don't see this happening under the current regime.

 

[SuperGoon]

Never understood the logic of revealing what our transfer budget was. Surely it just makes things more difficult in negotiations?

 

[Toast]

Never understood the logic of revealing what our transfer budget was. Surely it just makes things more difficult in negotiations?

Not really. Clubs can look at the financial info we publish and at past spending patterns to arrrive at a fairly good estimate of what we can spend.

 

[Tir Na Nog]

Whatever it'd take to get Xhaka, a top goal-scoring striker and a few squad fillers should be our "budget".

 

[celestis]

Can we work out what our maintenance expenditure , expenditure on rehab and medical wings etc is ?

 

[CaseUteinberger]

Discussing how much we can spend doesn't make much sense when we all know we will not spend it. We will not come close to what top clubs in the PL and Europe will spend. We will continue to try to do it on the cheap.

 

[celestis]

Whatever it'd take to get Xhaka, a top goal-scoring striker and a few squad fillers should be our "budget".

Exactly we cannot go into another season without a top striker , I don't care be it a couple of mill or 50 mill .

 

[celestis]

Discussing how much we can spend doesn't make much sense when we all know we will not spend it. We will not come close to what top clubs in the PL and Europe will spend. We will continue to try to do it on the cheap.

Theoretically we should have some to spend, but I remember 2003/2004 no outfield player then either that's because we had nothing to spend .

 

[DasBootist]

So basically the conclusion is Arsenal have more than enough cash to purchase the three players they badly require, the only question mark being whether Master Wenger will spend or not.

 

[dysphoria]

Doesn't matter how much we have on paper or in reality, what will stand true is the fact that we WON'T spend enough and even if wenger has an epiphany and starts looking for a world class forward for real, there isn't anyone out there who'll move to us before moving to one of the richer and hungrier clubs who also need a such a player.

Besides, i honestly don't think we'll still go on to win the league even if wenger signs/finds a world class player, add our last world class forward in his best form (rvp) to this current team and i still can see us dropping vital points, losing games from a drawing position and drawing games from a winning position.

The mentality isn't there to begin with, not from wenger, i think he's too fractured, too mentally weak and stubborn in his own ways that this imprint will always be in all his teams as we've seen for the past 10 years or so. You win titles on defensive solidity and i can't see wenger ever being capable of instilling that into a team anymore. Leicester aren't going to win the league because vardy is now the english messi and they've been scoring goals for fun, if they win it, it'd be because ranieri has managed to get the entire team to show proper defensive nous, insane work rate and keep things extremely tight at the back.

This whole issue of not spending vs spending if anything, has now become wenger's last lifeline, once again it's now that time of the season, the "he might spend, he has too!" season, "so and so might be available and we have X to spend", come on now, that entire debate about possible transfers is like a blind man trying to find a glory hole with his limp todger in tow, it's ultimate a futile exercise where're we just stroking hope's shaft, nothing is going to change enough just like it hasn't in the last couple of years and EVEN IF IT DOES, even if it somehow happens, from what we've seen in last few years, no one sensible can have any certainty or confidence (based on actual evidence that has repeated itself over and over and over again) in saying that "yes, wenger is a winner, he can deliver us the title".

 

[razörist]

The club has to stop with that idiotic "no value" in the market and start looking at value for THIS particular club. Its a really stupid way of looking at things. If our transferpeople have not seen this season that a top striker is priceless, they never will.. Get one in at all costs, or stop telling us that we want to win the title.

 

[Sanchez11]

i cant see us spending more than 80m net tbh!!